Fresno Chaffee Zoo offers new behind the scenes encounters this holiday season

"We really wanted to find a way to get people that much closer with the sharks and the stingrays, where you're actually able to be in there and experience it the way that the keepers do," said Adventure Guide Caitlin Huff.

With a dozen interactive activities for guests, there's something for everyone including their newest addition "Gills and Thrills".

"You get to put on some waders, which is always fun when you get a little bit of an outfit change for a program," added Huff. "Then we are putting you in the Stingray Bay pool and we're doing shark training and stingray training right around you."

For reptile lovers head over to "Scales and Tales".

"It gets you closer to a lot of animals that people don't necessarily expect to be as interactive as they are," continued Huff, "so it's really exciting to be able to show that side of all of them."

Guests go inside the reptile house and afterward can head outdoors to feed one of the zoo's most popular animals, a giant Galapagos tortoise.

"It really gives guests that much more investment in everything that we're doing here to be able to see what happens on the other side of those hidden doorways," said Huff.

There is an additional charge for any behind the scenes encounter and they need to be scheduled in advance. For information on pricing and booking visit the Fresno Chaffee Zoo website.